English Wine Week - What’s the mystery behind the perfect glass of wine?
Achieving perfection from your glass of wine can be a complex task. At Comark (www.comarkinstruments.net) we specialize in in temperature and humidity we thought we would lend a helping hand and guide you to the perfect tipple.
Storing of wine
Historically, the storage of wine was handled by wine merchants. However, since the 1950’s it has become more common for consumers to increasingly store their own wine.
There are 3 factors that have the most direct impact on a wine’s condition, they are light, humidity and temperature.
Storing wine is easy but many make the mistake of storing white wine, red wine and Champagne in the same place and therefore at the same temperature.
Wines are most often damaged by extreme fluctuations in temperature or movement.
The correct temperature ensures the wine’s flavour and balance remains. Different temperatures can affect the wine by either aging it prematurely or it may be ruined by its storage conditions.
Ideal storage temperatures:
• Red Wine: 12˚C - 19˚C
• White Wine: 8˚C - 12˚C
• Champagne: 5˚C - 8˚C
If you are intending to keep your wine for the future then the storage conditions are critical to ensuring its still at its best when drunk. Wine is best stored in a dark room, vibration free and humidity under 70%.
There are 3 main ways to store your bottles of wine safely and securely:
• Purpose built wine rooms
• A homemade closet or walk in wardrobe
• Wine refrigerators provide the best conditions to store wine.
So what about the drinking temperature. Well the wine experts do suggest slightly different temperatures depending on the grape.
⁰F Temp ⁰C Temp Notes
100° 39° Warm Bath
66° 19° Vintage Port
64° 18° Bordeaux, Shiraz
63° 17° Red Burgundy, Cabernet
61° 16° Rioja, Pinot Noir
59° 15° Chianti, Zinfandel
57° 14° Tawny/NV Port, Madeira
55° 13° Ideal storage for all wines
54° 12° Beaujolais, rose
52° 11° Viognier, Sauternes
48° 9° Chardonnay
47° 8° Riesling
45° 7° Champagne
43° 6° Ice Wines
41° 5° Asti Spumanti
35° 2° Fridge Temperature
32° 0° water freezes
0° -18° Freezer Temperature
Why not now take a moment to enjoy a nice glass.
